African American Visual Arts from the Colonial Period to the Present

 African American Visual Art from the Colonial Period to the Present is intended to introduce the student researcher to sources of information about visual arts created by African Americans over the past three centuries.  These artists have worked in a wide range of media, from traditional folk arts like basketry and quilting to fine arts like painting and sculpture, to architecture and fashion design. 

(Jitterbugs(II). 1941. William H. Johnson. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation.)

Mickalene Thomas’s midcareer survey at the Brooklyn Museum questioned many different norms, from women’s beauty to high art.Credit...Mickalene Thomas/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Librado Romero/The New York Times

From The New York Times art critic:

"What made the 2010s the most thrilling of all the decades I’ve spent in the New York art world was the rising presence of black artists of every ilk, on every front: in museums, commercial galleries, art magazines, private collections and public commissions.
During this exhilarating sea change new talent emerged, older talent was newly appreciated and the history of American art was suddenly up for grabs — and in dire need of rewriting."

Roberta Smith. November 24, 2019.

For additional and related information consider viewing these libguides: